Flu clinic brings relief, disappointment
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A long line snakes through the parking lot of the Barre Auditorium as hundreds wait for H1N1 vaccines at the Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice flu shot clinic on Saturday. Below, nurse Michele Gallison delivers the H1N1 vaccine to Anita Kelman of West Brookfield inside the Barre Auditorium. PHOTO BY JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR |
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By Peter Hirschfeld
Vermont Press Bureau - Published: November 15, 2009
BARRE – Dozens of central Vermonters were turned away from an H1N1 flu vaccination clinic Saturday morning after health-care workers quickly ran through the 500 doses they had on hand.
By 8 a.m. – an hour before the clinic was supposed to begin – a queue of flu-wary residents braced against a cold and persistent November drizzle outside the Barre Auditorium. By 10:30, an hour and a half before the clinic was scheduled to end, nurses closed the doors.
"Based on the experience of other clinics around the state, we believed we probably would have a lot of people show up," said Judy Peterson, president of Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice, which sponsored the clinic. "It's disappointing to have to turn people away, but we're recommending they come to the next clinic."
Vaccinations at Saturday's clinic were reserved for people in "priority groups" who, by virtue of age or medical condition, are more prone to serious complications if they contract the virus, commonly known as swine flu.
Robert Whitehead Jr., a 62-year-old Middlesex man with asthma and other chronic conditions, said brief discomfort in the cold rain was worth the peace of mind the vaccination would bring.
"I'm going to feel a lot safer, that's for sure," Whitehead said before getting his vaccination. "I've been trying for weeks to get this shot, and it'll feel good to finally feel protected."
Heather Smith, of East Montpelier, waited in line and got her 7-year-old son, Brandon, inoculated.
"I've kept him out of school for two weeks," Smith said.
Smith maneuvered a black umbrella over her son's head as they crept slowly through the line. Her first-grader has asthma, and, having followed the mounting H1N1 death tolls in newspapers and on TV, Smith hasn't been taking any chances
"I had him wearing a mask one day when he was playing outside the house," Smith said. "You hear about people almost dying and dying when they catch this, so it's a little scary."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced last week that 22 million Americans have been sickened by the H1N1 virus. About 4,000 have died, the CDC reports; the toll includes more than 500 children.
Vaccine supplies have been slow to arrive, however. Peterson said the Vermont Department of Health will distribute new doses every two weeks or so. But she said it could be well into January before the state has enough vaccine for everyone who wants it.
"We had a number of people come to the clinic today who said they had been turned away from other clinics," Peterson said. "I think it's going to be kind of a slow process."
Sandra Blodgett, of East Randolph, has been searching for an H1N1 vaccination for weeks without result. As a personal-care attendant for an elderly woman with a poor immune system, Blodgett said she's been anxious about communicating the virus to her weakened patient.
"I've been to other clinics, but they didn't have enough," Blodgett said Saturday before getting her dose. "It'll feel nice to finally have this off my mind."
There are two forms of H1N1 vaccine. The shot, which is the most popular, contains no live virus. The nasal mist contains a weakened form of the virus that cannot cause flu illness, according to the CDC.
But the nasal option has proved unpopular. Peterson said she still had about 40 doses of the nasal mist on hand Saturday, but that people are reluctant to take the live virus.
The flu shot is recommended for pregnant women, children younger than 2, people with weakened immune systems or serious medical conditions, and others who are otherwise medically vulnerable (for a complete list, visit www.healthvermont.gov).
Until an adequate supply is available, health care officials are asking that no one else seek the flu vaccine.
Through school and public clinics, hospitals, physicians' offices and other outlets, more than 38,000 doses of vaccine in both the shot and spray form have been administered in Vermont. The Department of Health has conducted more than 110 school vaccination clinics. More than 89,100 doses of vaccine were ordered for Vermont.
A series of 53 public clinics also got under way recently and will continue into January.
Since they are at far less risk of contracting the virus, Peterson said people older than 64 will not be allowed to get the H1N1 vaccine until it becomes more widely available.
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